Artists have long equated beauty with truth, but the truth is that beauty only exists in relation to something less beautiful. Beauty shines in the juxtaposition. For every Bulgari there is something truly Vulgari

The late Marxist historian DD Kosambi continues to wield tremendous influence on the study of Hinduism. But his disciples have disallowed any rational critique of the man and have zealously ignored the religion’s diversity

Open lists a few parliamentarians who could take a tip or two from Nehru to revive Indian Parliament as an effective instrument of democracy—and to save the country from the brink of economic and political disaster

Once a Double Niner, always a Double Niner. So say soldiers of the 99th Field Regiment of the Indian Army, which was awarded the title ‘Sylhet’ for its gallantry in the 1971 War for the liberation of Bangladesh. First raised in Aurangabad as the 99th Mountain Composite Regiment (Towed) on 15 April 1964, it is remembered for its role in obtaining the surrender of Pakistani forces after a 25-day gun battle during the war. As this 20-minute documentary shows, the Double Niners were masters of tactical manoeuvres, a tradition they still try their utmost to uphold.

Alam is the co-founder of the Muslim League, the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference. Beyond the politics, and the facts of his arrest and his life, and his own agenda, there are stories of ordinary people

Nobel Laureate Mo Yan

In a recent Time magazine article, Donald Morrison described Mo Yan, the first Chinese to get the Nobel Prize for Literature, as someone who has tackled ‘China’s tumultuous past century with a mix of magical realism and sharp-eyed satire that has made him one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirated of all Chinese writers’.

This could well be the reason that the Nobel jury this year was so taken with him. It could also be because 57-year-old Mo Yan (this is his pen name, which means ‘do not speak’; his real name is Guan Moye) writes historical novels generously peppered with ‘hallucinatory realism’, resplendent with black humour.

Mo Yan was forced out of school by his father and made to work as a farmer. This was to deeply influence his work later. The Garlic Ballads is about Chinese farmers who rioted when the government would not buy their crops, and The Republic of Wine uses cannibalism as a metaphor for Chinese self-destruction. One of his strengths is that he has never stopped writing about what ails China. As he wrote in Time in 2010, ‘Now that I can afford dumplings, why am I still writing? Because I have things to say.’

He started his writing career while serving in China’s People’s Liberation Army in the 1980s. Despite his controversial books, he enjoys official support in China. In 2011, he won China’s Mao Dun Literary Prize, which is approved by the government.

His recent most novel, Frog, looks at China’s strict one-child policy, and talks of officials who implement it without sympathy, forcing abortions and sterilisations. It’s got a daring heroine—a midwife who advocates such practices enthusiastically. She is later attacked by frogs, whose croaks are the wails of babies she has had aborted.

The late Marxist historian DD Kosambi continues to wield tremendous influence on the study of Hinduism. But his disciples have disallowed any rational critique of the man and have zealously ignored the religion’s diversity

The late Marxist historian DD Kosambi continues to wield tremendous influence on the study of Hinduism. But his disciples have disallowed any rational critique of the man and have zealously ignored the religion’s diversity

Sitaram Yechury incurs the displeasure of party leaders who want action, not talk, as the new chief goes ahead with plans to hold a plenum in November, just months ahead of crucial polls in Kerala where it is battling against heavy odds to wrest power from the Congress and in West Bengal where it is struggling to retain its second position

Open lists a few parliamentarians who could take a tip or two from Nehru to revive Indian Parliament as an effective instrument of democracy—and to save the country from the brink of economic and political disaster